Three exhibitions open in City buildings in January
Tessellated Language opens January 7, with reception from 4- 6 p.m. at City Hall

SEATTLE — Three exhibitions exploring themes of shared visual language; personal, cultural and natural heritages; and the faces of Africa are opening to the public in January. The exhibitions will be featured in the Seattle Municipal Tower, at 700 Fifth Ave, and City Hall, at 600 Fourth Ave. All exhibitions organized by the Office of Arts & Culture are free and open to the public, and are intended to activate civic spaces.

Tessellated Language showcases six Seattle artists, Kate Jessup, Joseph Pentheroudakis, Kelley Knickerbocker, Tina Randolph, Julia Haack and Jo Braun, whose work employs principles of tessellation—fragmentation, recombination, repetition, and modulation. The exhibition explores ways in which such techniques begin to imply, deliberately or not, the use of mutually intelligible personal languages of shape and space. The collection of work is comprised of numerous mediums, including drawing, mixed media, assemblage, mosaic, and wall-mounted sculpture. However, the focus deemphasizes the medium and instead spotlights the rationale behind the visual constructions, their emotional effects, and non-verbal echoes throughout the exhibition. In a specific sense, the collection of work examines overlap between and among the six artists’ respective visual “alphabets”; in a general sense, it offers a glimpse into a broader visual language of critically-made objects.

Heritage: Personal, Cultural, Natural features works from the City of Seattle’s Portable Works Collection that highlight our heritage as individuals and as members of groups, whether ethnic, social, national or geographical. The exhibition features 17 artworks by 13 artists including Patrick Anderson, Rick Bartow, Mark Calderon, Ameen Dhillon, Marita Dingus, Rodger Fernandes, Randy Hayes, Karin Helmich, Jacob Lawrence, Tatjana Krynytzky, Karen Liebowitz, May Nao Ly, and Betye Saar.

Tatjana Krynytzky references examples of Ukrainian embroidery in the The Sampler to connect to the past and help give her fellow immigrants a sense of identity in new and foreign surroundings. May Nao Ly continues a Hmong tradition of preserving stories and folk tales on quilts with Story of Making a Hmong Skirt. In Story Teller II, Rick Bartow fuses Native American motifs with mainstream esthetics in his very personal work. Curated by Blake Haygood, Curatorial Assistant in the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture.

Throughout history, Western, Eastern and African cultures have adorned themselves and used body modification to display class and status. Faces of Africa is a collaborative exhibition featuring 16 works by Al Doggett and Donald Leonard presenting the diverse adornment of the people of Africa. Doggett, originally from New York and now a well-established Seattleite. Leonard, originally from Alabama, currently resides in Kent, Wash.

For more information about any of the exhibitions or gallery spaces, call (206) 684-7171 or visit www.seattle.gov/arts.

Office of Arts & Culture | Making art work.
We envision a city driven by creativity that provides the opportunity for everyone to engage in diverse arts and cultural experiences. We are supported by the 16-member Seattle Arts Commission, citizen volunteers appointed by the mayor and City Council.